Battle of Memories
by CheyF
Summary: Complete: Some crew members get grumpy, avoid the doctor, and get manipulated by aliens.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"...ptain, Captain?" She turned around and looked at her first officer questioningly.

"Yes commander?" She was distracted by something.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded.

He repeated: "Would you like any other diagnostics? We've already done the usual."

He raised his eyebrows at the hesitation in her answer.

"No, it'll do for now. How is everything else on the ship?"

"I said the ship is in good condition, but her Captain should go for a diagnostic in sickbay."

She unconsciously gave him a genuine smile.

"Her Captain is just fine, only a little preoccupied this morning." She faced the view screen and moved her attention to the stars streaking by at warp six. He leaned over to her from his command chair, his shoulder only a hair's breadth from brushing with hers.

"Another nightmare last night?" It was only a whisper. She glanced at him briefly and then let her eyes wander around the bridge.

"They're getting worse, more extreme, I don't know why. I've even talked to the Doctor, he has his usual answer. But I know it isn't stress."

The Commander smiled wryly. "Or lack of sleep?"

"No, of all things, not lack of sleep." She resumed sipping her coffee.

"It may just be Neelix's newest caffeine concoction."

"Maybe," she nodded, "but it does taste halfway decent this time."

A small beeping drew the eyes of the command team to the consul. A message from engineering.

"Mr. Paris, go to warp seven." The Helmsman's fingers tapped a series of commands into his console.

"Present speed is warp seven, heading 9297, Mark 534, Captain." He turned for acknowledgment, receiving it from the commander.

A few minutes later a voice rang out: "Engineering to Bridge."

"Yes B'elanna?" A restless sigh laced the Captain's words. She'd almost forgotten she'd been anticipating this for the last few days.

"The new warp drive improvements are going smoothly so far under our present speed. By this time tomorrow we should be able to sustain warp nine long term."

Chakotay watched a glimmer briefly light up his captain's eyes, breaking the fatigue he say there, if just only for a moment. She may be sleeping, but she probably got no rest or respite. "Good work B'elanna, Janeway out."

If the long silences on the bridge weren't so heavy it wouldn't have been so disturbing when it stretched for minutes, even the breathing of the bridge officers lost beneath the thrum of the engine.

Trying to cut through, the Captain tried to lighten the mood: "Commander, what do you think about getting home a few years early?" Silence.

The smile faded from her face.

"Commander, I'd like to speak with you in my ready room for a moment."

She walked towards her ready room. Swiftly he followed.

"He's gonna get it." Tom faced Harry Kim right as the doors closed behind the first officer.

"I've been meaning to ask you Tom, what were *You* busted for yesterday?"

Tom turned completely around to face Harry, ignoring the Vulcan at tactical.

"Something about not giving the Doctor the respect he deserves." Harry smiled.

They all knew their captain had been on edge, erratic. They'd been sailing along with no interruption for the last three months. They'd enjoyed the break, but the quiet, the predictability…it let them think about all they'd left behind, all they missed, and all the mistakes made. They knew, even without knowing the medium, that these memories were pummeling their captain gradually down.

She was seated behind her full-sized desk before the doors closed behind her second in command.

"Have a seat."

He sat down and scooted the chair closer to the front of the desk.

"Are you happy on Voyager? Satisfied with your duties?"

Chakotay was surprised by her question. _What brought this up? Of course I'm Satisfied with my duties and I'm happy, but satisfied with our lives? No. What set her mind off? She's been scolding so many bridge officers over simple things lately, I'd almost expect that right now. I want that to be what we're talking about now._

"I...Captain, yes."

Janeway rose from her seat and walked around behind him. She started pacing.

"Commander, you've been distracted. The quality of your work has decreased, I need to know if you're having problems with something...or someone." She unknowingly projected herself onto him.

She walked to her chair behind the desk. She firmly planted her hands onto the surface of the desk, shoulder width apart. She looked into Chakotay's eyes, as if she could dissect his thoughts.

"Captain there is no problem with anything..." She sat.

"I hear the exception coming. Please, continue Commander."

This time Chakotay took the liberty of standing from his seat.

"Captain, I'm worried about someone on board."

Her eyes looked up in interest.

"Tell me more Commander, which crewman?"

"She's been tired during duty shifts, almost to the point that she could be making mistakes that could affect the entire ship. Gradually her health has been slipping, I've been worried."

Janeway was alarmed, worry began to wrinkle her brow.

"Is it Seven? If it is, anything can go wrong. If an implant malfunctions...why didn't you tell me sooner Commander?"

His face flushed. "It isn't Seven."

He walked around the desk and approached her. "It's the Captain."

Janeway shot out towards the front of her desk, nearly knocking Chakotay to the ground.

"There's nothing wrong with me Chakotay, I'm in perfect health." She lowered her voice as she became conscious of how thin the walls were between the bridge and her ready room. All of a sudden, she switched to his name instead of his rank, a small hole in her defenses that only he might notice.

"Please, Captain," He was careful to avoid using her given name, "at least go to sickbay and talk with the Doctor."

She walked towards the door.

"After my shift, Commander."

Her voice had a bit more of a growl, underlying a thin threat. It meant he should drop the subject, though she probably wouldn't go, but rather conveniently forget about her well being. His captain could have quite a bark, but she tended to soften around him, even when he pushed past her defenses.

The Captain noticed Tom and Harry swiftly return to their work as she gracefully entered the bridge. The Commander strode in behind her and took his seat.

Janeway looked at the time read-out beside her in the corner of the screen in the command console. "Anything on sensors, Harry?"

"No Ma'am." He never failed. Ensign Kim was the only person on the bridge who still referred to the Captain as _Ma'am_ on occasion. A small peeve, but why trouble the ensign any more. Actually, he only really reverted back to the Starfleet standard when he was nervous or anxious. Perhaps Chakotay was right. She might be the one setting the tone on the bridge rather than the other way around.

She frowned.

"Bridge to Engineering," the Captain paused for a moment, "how are the next set of warp core adjustments coming along?"

B'elanna's voice sounded back loud and clear. "Everything appears to be working normally. The matter/antimatter flow is more stable than we predicted. Thanks to Seven."

"Good B'elanna, keep up with the fine work. Janeway out."

After hours of smooth riding, Janeway stood and stretched her legs as she walked to the turbo-lift.

"Commander, would you like to join me in Engineering?"

He smiled back in her direction.

"I'd be glad to." Chakotay followed her lead.

"Engineering." The 'lift began its descent at her command.

"I thought we could see the core at work for ourselves."

Chakotay nodded in agreement. He heard her take in a sharp breath. When Chakotay turned around her saw the Captain stumble as if drunk, and nearly fall to the floor. He reacted quickly and caught her under the arms.

"Computer, halt turbolift!"

He kneeled closer to the floor lowering her and looked into her eyes. Her skin was pale. "Captain, are you all right?"

She regained her wind and pushed up to stand. She smoothed her uniform jacket down with shaky hands. "Fine. A dizzy spell, that's all. Resume turbo-lift." He voice was airy, but the color was returning to her cheeks.

Chakotay distracted his gaze, knowing all too well that is was almost never _just_ a dizzy spell.


	2. Chapter 1

That evening, Kathryn found herself wandering the halls. Stopping, in habit at her fist officer's door and ringing the door chime.

A moment later his voice beckoned. "Come in."

The door slid open and she stepped into the darkened quarters. The blackness hid his huddled form, only the stars speeding by his windows provided any light.

"Lights, Dim." His voice was a whisper. She saw him.

Chakotay was at the glass table he often found useful as a desk. His hands lay quietly in his lap, and the remnants of tears were still drying slowly on his tanned skin. As her eyes adjusted to the low lighting, Kathryn moved forward cautiously, growing worried. She kneeled at his side and extended her left hand in compassion. She lifted his chin with a single finger, softly nudging his head. His flooded eyes met hers.

"What...what happened, Chakotay?" Her hand left his chin. She let her fingers ghost across his cheek, brushing his skin in a gentle caress. On its descent, her hand stopped at the padded shoulder of his uniform, sending warmth through the material.

"What has made you restless enough that you are up at this hour? Why are you crying?"

His eyes lowered to where her pale, smooth hands now covered his own roughened palms.

"My life, Kathryn. It hasn't got a point anymore. I realized that after you asked me that question earlier today. I feel like there's no hope. Sure, I'm _there_ for the crew, I'm there for you, but I'm lonely. What I do every day has become routine...I've become a shell of…" Chakotay cut his own sentence short as his voice started to become unsteady. She thought he wasn't making the best of sense, but he was a mess. He'd let this build up inside for far too long. But she'd been more distant these last few months, she supposed, so perhaps she hadn't been receptive to his needs like she should have.

He cleared his throat to ward away quaver in his deep-timbered voice. Kathryn lifted up on her knees and embraced her friend in a tight hug, her finger tips just barely touching across his shoulders. She smelled him, clean, and earthy as she spoke into his ear.

Her voice was a steady whisper, supportive. Her warm words surrounded him, puffs of breath hitting his ear just so, making him shiver. "No Chakotay, your life isn't pointless. You live every day with over one-hundred and forty lives, all in your hands. You guide me through, and you protect me. You know as well as I do, nothing out here is ever routine. Tell me how your life could be any more pointless than mine is. Tell me how this crew could carry on any better without you than they could get home without a warp drive. Tell me how I could make it through every day without you standing by my side."

He suddenly broke the comforting embrace they shared. _Your life isn't pointless!_ Her eyes stayed steady with his, startled by the sudden loss of warmth. Her eyes shimmered in the dim lighting. Her first falling tear glimmered as if flowed down her porcelain cheek and became lost in the corner of her mouth. The silence between them ripped through her heart and the breath caught in her throat. Kathryn wiped her hands over her face to catch the rest of the tears before they had a chance to fall.

"I _need_ you." Her voice faded to a weak whisper as she realized what she was admitting.

Chakotay opened his mouth to speak, but stood instead. He walked over to the viewport, and froze beside the couch. Kathryn stayed perched on her knees with a helpless expression for a few moments. When he turned back to look at her she rose. Kathryn walked in small steady steps towards Chakotay until she was only centimeters from him.

"We need you. Your guidance, your strength, it is what drives this crew." She was about to continue her plea when Chakotay interrupted her.

"What about you? It's difficult to sleep when I know my Captain is exhausted on the bridge, going the entire day without food, and doping up on caffeine. I mean, gods Kathryn, you fainted into my arms today!"

His outburst startled her. She didn't expect his frustration to rear its head again and target her. She stepped back cautiously, steeling her shoulders and straightening her spine for the onslaught as he continued to criticize her. She backed into a chair, her mouth dropped open.

"Chakotay..."

"No, Kathryn, it isn't different. You're killing yourself. Slow suicide! You refuse help for whatever is going on, from all of us. Even Tuvok has confessed he's starting to worry about you in some weird Vulcan way."

She flinched.

"You're right, I'm here to protect you, but you won't let me! You won't even let me in anymore. You're just the Captain, Kathryn's hiding away. A few months ago, you were too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too passionate to permit the presence of trouble, but now...Kathryn, now..."

"So _were_ you!"

He lowered his head to observe her fidgeting hands, her knuckles white as she pulled at the fingers and wringed her wrists. She looked up when he didn't respond and followed his gaze to her hands. She abruptly brought the offending appendages straight to her sides.

"Kathryn, you're jittery every day on the bridge." Chakotay looked over the Captain's figure. Every inch was ridged with exhaustion. She shifted her weight to one leg and glued her eyes to the passing stars behind her first officer. She was unsuccessful; he caught her gaze and held it.

"I went to the Doctor this morning to ask about you, to see if all of this was just my imagination. Eventually he told me that in the last month alone, your headaches have increased, you've lost...what is it now, twelve pounds? Not like you had any to lose anyways…"

He looked at the dark smudges beneath her eyes and the deepening hollows of her cheeks.

"And you've even started experiencing space sickness. Don't think I haven't noticed. Everyone is starting to see it. What's happening?" His voice rose as he came closer.

"Chakotay, I can take care of myself."

"Can you, Kathryn, really?" He was almost nose to nose with her. He put a firm hand on her right shoulder.

"You say you worry about why I'm up this late, why are you walking the ship?!" He gave her no time to answer. "For God's sake Kathryn, you've been detaching yourself from our crew. Harry asked me this morning if you were sick, I couldn't even think of a way to answer the poor man." His hand squeezed her shoulder, finger digging, finding no give and only bone.

She grimaced when he let go a moment later.

Chakotay walked to his replicator and punched in a five-digit code.

She stood leaning on the chair, motionless, gathering herself, reviewing the last few minutes in her mind. She watched his stiff movement, almost mechanical gestures, the clenched right fist at his side.

He walked toward her, expressionless, the usual lift in his step gone. Chakotay shoved the plate of food in his hands aggressively towards her. She fumbled with the plate, confused. The smell of the cream-covered chicken diffused into the air around her and she imagined how easy it would be to just throw the plate and its horrid smell onto the floor and stomp out of the repressive quarters. That wouldn't be very captainly, nor fair to Chakotay.

"You were on the bridge all day today. You never ate. Now is a better time than any." He crossed his arms and stared into her crystal blue eyes.

"Chakotay, I already ate in my quarters." Her whisper was barely audible.

"What did you eat? Emergency rations? There isn't anything in the replicator logs." She looked up from the plate of food at him in utter surprise.

"Are you checking up on me Chakotay!? That's an invasion of privacy and bordering on insubordination!"

"You're avoiding the point Kathryn."

"Chakotay, there isn't a point! I wanted to know what you thought of the anomaly five light years away. I'm sorry if I disturbed you!" She balanced the plate on the arm of the chair and walked swiftly to the door, slipping through as soon as it was wide enough for her to fit. She circled back into Chakotay's quarters and kept her eyes down as she approached the glass table and grabbed the padd she had brought in with her earlier.

The plate on the chair tipped over as Chakotay ran for the closing door. When he rounded the corner in the corridor Kathryn was already halfway to the turbolift. He sped towards her. When he put his hands on her shoulders she started and swung around angrily. He saw tears starting down the sides of her face again, uninhibited in her frustration and…what was it, sadness? Hopelessness? She reflected all his negative energy back to him. He wondered now, whether he's done the pushing away, or if she had. Or if both were responsible for this sorry state of affairs.

"Leave me alone Chakotay! I need to go to my quarters." She paused and took a deep, shaky breath. "I'll see you on the bridge at 07:00."

Her voice pierced his heart, colder than ice, despite her disheveled, teary appearance. He watched as she hastily boarded the turbolift, unaware in her rage or sorrow, or emotional overload that she was being foolish (in more ways than one).

 _Dare I say, that her quarters aren't on any other deck._

Chakotay stood for a moment and waited, but the 'lift didn't return, so he slowly shuffled to his quarters.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm so happy that so many folks are reading! I'm just so tickled. :) Anyways, I'm hoping to continue at the current pace of editing. Hopefully life won't get in the way any time soon. :) All thoughts and comments are appreciated!

Chakotay couldn't get the events of the evening out of his mind. He was even more concerned now. He couldn't be angry, he couldn't be sad, he couldn't think of himself. Kathryn's genuine sentiments

"Doctor, the captain has been getting very... irritable. She's been forgetful. A lot of us are getting worried about her physical health, and her mental state. Even Tuvok has begun to show concern."

The doctor shifted his gaze from the computer screen.

"To be honest, Commander, I'm beginning to have my own concerns about the Captain."

"Over the last few months the captain has been more frequently experiencing space sickness." He Paused.

"Yes, she's been having a hard time hiding it lately." Chakotay sighed.

"Well, Commander, the captain's condition will keep on worsening unless we can get her to sickbay and I get permission for treatment."

The Doctor spoke his words with such precision that it could be mistaken that he was talking about something only as serious as a bruised thumb.

 _Tuvok meet Doctor, Doctor meet Vulcan._

"Treatment for what? She hasn't come in for the space sickness?"

The captain may have been worse off then he'd thought.

"Something in this region of space is causing an increase in swelling, resulting in interference with the function of the neural pathways in Captain Janeway's brain, but hasn't noticeably done so to the other members of the crew, though many seem much more on-edge."

"The headaches..."

"Yes, Commander, the cause of the frequent headaches, also her deteriorating sleeping and eating habits. It truly isn't her fault, most likely she isn't aware of the changes. I wasn't aware of the full neural effects until an hour ago, even."

"I'm stunned Doctor. She has been temperamental lately, but I never thought..."

He stopped mid-sentence.

The doors to sickbay had opened.

"Captain?"

Kathryn stumbled in, her feet barely coming up from the surface of the floor with each step, the padd from earlier falling from her hands. Beads of sweat ran down into her eyes blurring her vision. The salty water burned her eyes, but she couldn't feel such petty pain through...whatever was causing her entire body to scream inside over-powered everything else. Hot pins and needles stabbed at her legs, and threads of invisible metal strung through her veins, floating with her blood and tearing all it touched. The perspiration on her formidable chin began to drip to the carpet. When she struggled to speak she could only manage a garbled moan.

Kathryn's arms thrust out in front of her when she realized her weight was too much for her legs to carry anymore without some form of support. Her futile attempt to catch herself on the biobed fell short. Kathryn whimpered as much in defeat as in pain when she hit the floor. The hard paneling under the thin layer of grey carpeting took a vengeance against her body, sending the air out of her breathless lungs in a harsh jolt.

Chakotay didn't have time to reach his captain before she hit the ground with a hollow thump. He lifted her from the floor gently. Kathryn's head snapped back without the support of consciousness.

The two men arranged her body on the nearest biobed.

"We don't have a choice now doctor, do we?"

"As second in command, it is your decision, once the captain is unable to make it herself."

Chakotay locked his gaze on the captain's face.

"No, commander, if we don't release the pressure on her brain from the interference, the captain will die. There is no other way. There is nothing more you can do here to assist me commander. I recommend you go and get some rest in your quarters. I'll call you when I'm finished."

Chakotay froze, ready to object. He was completely powerless. He couldn't help her. He could only acquiesce with the man who could. Without a word, he walked out of the sickbay.

In the turbolift Chakotay found himself looking at the back of his eyelids.

"Halt turbolift...Computer, locate Seven of Nine."

Chakotay stood still waiting for the reply. It was getting late. She may not even be available, but he had to talk to someone.

"Seven of Nine is in Engineering."

Chakotay's eyes opened slowly and he stopped leaning against the wall.

"Computer, resume turbolift, deck eleven, engineering."

The tall, busty figure was the first thing Chakotay saw as he entered engineering. The perfect fingers of the human/borg flowed over the controls at her consul in a twisted combination of metal and flesh efficiency. Chakotay approached her, hovering over the warp assembly.

"Seven, can you join me in astrometerics for a while? I need your help."

Seven of Nine turned toward the commander and ran her eyes over his countenance.

"My diagnostics are complete. I can assist you until 0400."

Seven quietly followed the first officer when he turned on his heels and left engineering.

"We picked up an expected number of anomalies on sensors in this region of space. The anomalies are all within the normal parameters of their classification. Seven, is there any way we can detect any dark matter molecules, or other spacial compounds that can cause any degree of unacceptable pressure on a human nervous system?"

"I believe, Commander, what you are looking for is a small area in the space that we passed through last week. The ship's sensors detected slight fluctuations in a 'cloud' of densely packed 'space dust' as you call it. These fluctuations caused minor releases of various types of radiation, some still unidentified. The dominate radiation found was in the epsilon, theta, and gamma categories. The anomaly had no attributes that would cause Voyager delay, and none that could contribute to the ship's power supplies. The captain had no sufficient motivation to investigate the cloud beyond the sensors."

He examined the spectrograph on the viewer.

"Seven, please download all information concerning this particular anomaly to my quarters."

"Yes Commander."

"Thank you."

Chakotay nodded to Seven. She strode out with the utmost efficiency, presumably to go back to engineering to continue to tinker with the systems.

The monotone grey doors hissed open to reveal Chakotay's quarters. He walked groggily to the computer on his table and spun it around until the monitor came into full view. The information was all there for him to dissect and study during the course of the night, or rather, the morning. Chakotay walked to his favorite chair to pull it to the table. He stumbled when his feet found the plate on the floor; the one he'd given the captain earlier, abandoned.

 _Maybe I do need sleep. I need to stop worrying.  
_  
He slowly bent down on one knee and retrieved the plate from the floor. Chakotay sorrowfully looked at each piece of the rotten apple as he picked it up and discarded it on the plate.

 _I don't remember when she told me she prefers the apples like the green ones she used to sneak into her room from the kitchen sometimes. How can I remember something so small and insignificant?  
_  
He shifted his gaze to the two pieces of the ham sandwich, not realizing why he had replicated that particular thing. He examined the pieces and gathered them onto the plate with everything else. Chakotay rose and put the meal in to recycle.

 _Stop thinking about it or you won't get any sleep_.

But he couldn't not think of _her_.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry for missing a post yesterday. I almost didn't get a chapter edited today either. Migraines are the worst! Sorry for any mistakes or errors I've missed, I wanted to get this out, but I'm still not feeling well. I do it for you. 3

"Doctor to Commander Chakotay."

Chakotay lifted his head from his hands. He wiped the wettish grains of sleep from his bleary eyes.

"Chakotay here."

"I've completed the first of three procedures. After her body has a few hours to recover, I will continue. The captain is awake for the moment; I assumed you want the chance to speak with her. She has been briefed on the situation."

"I'll be right there. Chakotay out."

Chakotay imagined the worst, whether the captain's condition was the same or if it had worsened, it would break his heart to see her at less than her healthiest. He remembered seeing her before, beat up and bloody, but this was almost as bad.

 _Not only is she the captain and caretaker of so many here, but also a good friend, caring and confident._

-  
Chakotay went directly to the captain's bed in the furthermost, quietest corner of sickbay. The Doctor noticed the entrance of the ship's first officer and wisely moved his work into his office.

Her face was even paler then he'd ever seen before.

 _It's only the sickbay lighting._ Chakotay hoped.

Her long hair flowed across her shoulders, a stark contrast to the teal sickbay gown. The same dark greens played harsh against the soft tones of her face. Her lips turned sharply down into a pain-filled frown. He knew the woven cloth of any sickbay-issued clothing was annoying to anyone. The added discomfort was an affront on all. Kathryn turned her head to look sleepily at her first officer.

Chakotay leaned closer to her.

"I'm sorry about my behavior earlier, Kathryn."

She rasped out his name. Even though there was a crackling, unsettling tone in her voice, the sound was warm and welcoming. Chakotay recalled her cold tone and icy words from only hours before, but only for a moment. He could never be upset with her for long. Their relationship was forgiving, though frustrating.

"I was out of line earlier too. I shouldn't have lied to you, or acted the way I did."

Her dull blue eyes locked onto his. Kathryn's apology flashed in the dilated pupils. The corners of her mouth edged upward in an tired smile.

Chakotay smiled down at her. One of her hands rose up to his shoulder, seeking his warmth and comfort.

"Don't get into too much trouble while I'm here."

"Kathryn, you know I wouldn't do anything that you wouldn't do."

"And that's what scares me commander."

Her hand fell limply to her side, her energy spent.

"I'll see you in the morning, Chakotay?"

"I'll take that as an order, Captain."

The Doctor approached the captain, hypospray in hand and dismissed her visitor.

"Commander, I'm sure you need more sleep before your next duty shift. It is time for Captain Janeway to get some rest."

Chakotay gave a tired smile in the Doctor's direction as he walked out.

-  
"Good morning commander."

Harry never failed. Every morning when a commanding officer came into the bridge it was the same greeting.

"Where's the captain?"

There was a hint of concern in young Harry's voice. Chakotay took his seat in the first officer's chair, overlooking the bridge. He turned to Ensign Kim.

"She's in sickbay at the moment. She'll be back on duty in a few days."

Chakotay hoped for no more questions on the subject. He remembered the feelings he had as a captain of a ship. Captain Janeway probably had the same feelings. No captain of any ship wants to have their crew see them weak or sick, and surly not incapacitated. Luckily none of the crew had noticed the peak of symptoms that had been building up in the Captain over time.

"Commander, I am detecting a fluctuation in subspace, approximately 1.5 Light-years off our port bow. It has an area of ten kilometers, expanding at approximately 112% per second. I suggest we alter course."

Chakotay shifted in his chair. "Noted Lieutenant-Commander Tuvok."

"Should I alter course, Commander?" Tom turned to the command deck.

"Not yet, Tom."

Chakotay stood and walked closer to the view screen.  
He slapped his comm badge. "Chakotay to Seven of Nine."

"Yes, Commander?"

"Meet me in astrometerics. To evaluate this subspace phenomenon."

"I am on my way."

Chakotay walked to Tom Paris.

"Drop to one quarter impulse when we get within 100,000 Kilometers. When we get within 50,000 Kilometers alter course to go around the anomaly. I want to get detailed scans as we go by."

"Yes sir."

Chakotay went to the turbolift, the sounds of Paris's swift fingers on the controls sounding behind him. Before the lift had the chance to pass beyond deck three the ship rocked violently. Chakotay lost his footing, falling hard, his face scraping against the coarse carpet and watched the red lights in the 'lift as they began to pulse.

"Chakotay to bridge. What just happened?"

Tuvok's voice came clearly over the comm.

"All hands to battle stations. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill."  
"Chakotay to Tuvok, what's going on?"  
"Computer, open turbolift doors..."

Chakotay removed a panel from the floor and took a set of door pads from a box. He tried again to command the computer to open the 'lift doors.

Tuvok finally responded to Chakotay's hail: "An energy weapon from an unknown source has fired toward our aft phaser banks. Shields are down, and energy is being drained from all key, high-power systems."

The doors flew open to deck three and Chakotay bolted for the nearest Jefferies tube hatch.

"I'm on my way back to the bridge. Localize the source of that weapon!"

When Chakotay reached the first junction in the tubes his comm badge chirped to life.

"Doctor to Commander Chakotay..."

"Yes?"

"It is vital that you send someone to sickbay immediately. My matrix is destabilizing. Am not nearly finished with the second phase of the captain's procedure."

"I'll do what I can Doctor. Do all that you can to put the surgery to a stopping point safely if you can Doctor."

Chakotay reached the bridge, out of breath.

"Tom, I'll take the helm, you're needed in sickbay."

Paris turned in his chair in surprise.

"There are barely any casualties commander."  
"That's an order Lieutenant Paris!"

Chakotay took the helm and Tom headed for the Jefferies tubes.

"Ensign Wildman, please treat the burns with the dermal regenerator."

The Doctor handed the tool to the woman and she went to work on the few people in sickbay.

The Doctor heard a groan from behind him. The captain's hands moved to her head.

"Captain you mustn't move!"

He nudged her shoulder downward.

"Doctor! What's happening to my ship?!"

Her edgy voice could have easily been mistaken for the cause of the ship's shuddering.

"Lieutenant Torres, do we have warp?"

Chakotay found that he had to shout into his comm badge over the din of the failing ship.

"Just a minute, I'll have it online...wait...Chakotay we're in trouble. The core just went offline! Thrusters will have to be it for now, we can't even muster impulse from this mess. It'll be half an hour before I even get through the start-up sequence on this thing.

Chakotay ordered full thrusters to escape the phantom that was firing and draining all the life from the ship.

-  
"Captain, I need you to stay still. Your procedure isn't nearly complete!"

The Doctor prepared a hypospray and strode towards the captain. She shouldn't have awoken, he didn't understand. He'd have to risk additional sedation, lest she cause more damage.

Voyager rocked violently, sending Ensign Wildman sprawling, and the captain halfway off the biobed. The Doctor, blessed by incredible holographic balance subroutines barely wavered as he watched trays with his tools tip and topple to the deck.

The captain dropped roughly to her knees beside the biobed, her hands holding her head in her lips parted and her breath coming in gasps.

Tom Paris stumbled through the sickbay doors that were stuck halfway open.

"Captain?"

Tom was facing Kathryn's weak figure. The Doctor started fading in and out of view. He dropped the hypospray as his interface temporarily lost cohesion.

The ship rocked again. Tilting forty-five degrees without the inertial dampeners. The captain grabbed for the edge of her biobed to hold on. Tom managed to grab the foot of the same biobed and climb up behind her. He wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her in place, just has her unconscious finger lost their grip.

Sickbay went pitch dark. Even the emergency lighting lagging.

The Doctor's voice came out of the darkness.

"Activate sickbay auxiliary power."

Nothing happened.

"Computer, activate sickbay backup sys..."

The doctor disappeared into the dark. His program deactivated due to the lack of power...or something else...

The bridge went black, the alert lights didn't activate.

"Lieutenant Tuvok, what just happened?"

Commander Chakotay felt his way across the bridge to the tactical station.

"I regret to inform you, Commander, that the ship will be uninhabitable in approximately one hour, and fourteen minutes. Voyager has been completely drained of power. I suggest we board escape pods before the ship becomes so.

Chakotay was puzzled. _This kind of thing doesn't 'just' happen._

"Tuvok, how could the ship be completely drained of power? What attacked us?"

"Unknown."

A wrist light came on across the bridge, cutting through the dark. Tuvok opened a panel beside the turbolift and took out lights for himself and Chakotay. Both men grabbed a phaser and headed for the Jefferies tubes. Chakotay turned to Tuvok, who was crawling behind him.

"How do you suggest that we tell the rest of the ship?"

"The tricorders are still fully functional. I recommend that we use a tricorder to send a signal to the crew's comm badges."

Chakotay nodded. "That could work."

A defining high pitched screech came over every comm badge in sickbay. Paris reached for Janeway and lifted her by the shoulders to the biobed. Kathryn moaned at the movement. He checked the comm system.

"All hands, abandon ship. Proceed to the nearest escape pods. Set a course for the M-Class planet three light-years from our current position. Avoid the spacial anomaly at all costs."

The computerized voice ceased and the horrible screeching continued. The message came to the ears of the people in sickbay once more, and then silence again embraced the entire ship. Ensign Wildman followed the sound of the Captain's comm badge and retrieved it. She clipped the piece of machinery to the captain's gown.

"How are we supposed to get to an escape pod in the dark?" Paris' voice sounded from the Doctor's office.

"I guess we'll just have to be lucky. I hope Naomi doesn't get too scared."

"I'm sure Neelix is taking good care of her. We'll need lots of luck, Sam."

Paris heard a new figure stumble through the half-open sickbay doors.

"Tom, Doctor? Captain?"

It was Chakotay's voice.

"Over here...Commander..." Janeway shot the words through the dark. She divested herself of Tom's protective grip as she slowly sat up.

A light shone into Paris' eyes.

"Tuvok is on his way to the shuttle bay. He plans to transport us all to a shuttle once he's there with the shuttle's transporter."

Paris' look turned puzzled.

"The power in the shuttles wasn't drained?"

"We're counting on that power to be there. It's an independent source and they were powered down at the time of the drainage."

Chakotay moved to the Captain's side and stood opposite of where Tom had just moved.

"Tom there should be more lights in the medical lab. Please go get them."

Chakotay took the beacon from his wrist and handed it to Tom. Tom scurried around the corner.

Chakotay leaned over the captain's still figure. Concerned that she was so quiet.

"Are you Awake?"

She rasped a barely audible answer.

"Do you think you can walk Kathryn?"

Her hand searched the air for him and landed on the right side of his chest. His hand moved to her arm, offering support.

"I..." Her proclamation ended in a grunt.

Janeway's breathing labored with the effort of swinging her legs over the edge of the biobed.

Chakotay lifted her into his arms, guiding her head to rest in the cradle of his shoulder. Paris came back to them, carrying four more wrist lights. He handed them out to Wildman, King, and Chakotay.

"Paris, we'll need the Doctor's kit from that tray." The commander nodded towards the tools he hoped were intact, sitting in the corner nearest to him.

Tom had the medical instruments gathered right before transport was initiated. The captain flinched at the feeling of the transporter as it enveloped both her and Chakotay.

"Commander the shuttle is beginning to be drained of power. I recommend we leave as soon as possible."

"Make it so Tuvok. Tricorder readings show all crewmen to be in escape pods. Tom is there a way to transfer the Doctor to the shuttle's systems?"

Tom looked doubtful, but he nodded and acknowledged that he'd give it his best shot, worried at the panic in his superior's voice.

Chakotay wove his way to the aft section of the Delta Flyer. He laid the Captain down on the nearest bunk.

"Captain, how are you feeling?"

She opened her eyes and faced him.

"Tired." She sighed.

Paris entered the aft section.

"I've got the Doctor's program transferring, the computer should have him initialized in a minute..."

Moments later the computer emitted a series of short mechanical beeps.  
"Please state the…What just happened?"

Chakotay gave the Doctor an annoyed look. Kathryn stirred in her bunk, reaching for the commander's shoulder to get his attention. Everyone felt the shuttle leave the bay, a slight shudder as Ensign Wildman piloted it away from the ship.

The Doctor intercepted Janeway's arm, forcing her to lie back all the way. Chakotay moved away. The Doctor prepared a hypospray and kneeled beside Janeway's cot.

"Captain, I'm going to sedate you now so I may continue the procedure, it's imperative we continue."

Kathryn cast a worried look toward Chakotay.

"Doctor, I need to be awake right now. Can the surgery wait?"

She lifted her arms to weakly block the Doctor's approach with the hypospray.

"Why be conscious when you could just be dead." The Commander heard the comment made under the hologram's breath.

Chakotay returned to the Captain's side and laid his hand on her clammy forehead. He made sure his voice was down to a whisper when he spoke to her.

"May I remind you, Kathryn, I'm here to protect you. Let me do my job for once. Allow the Doctor to do the same."

Her glassy blue eyes met his as she nodded in acknowledgment. The Doctor lowered the hypospray to the captain's neck and injected the anesthetic agent. Her head fell to the side and the Doctor began his work.


	5. Chapter 4

"Landing thrusters engaged. Inertial dampeners adjusted to match the planets gravity and orientation."

Tom's voice showed utter relief. He looked from the forward windows in front of him to see the dim surface of the desert planet. Various rock formations glittered in the fading light that rippled over the sandy plane. The sunset would be beautiful and last twice as long as the same phenomenon on Earth. The days would be long and hot, the nights bitterly cold after so much time in the dark. He estimated the rotation of the planet to be at about 35 hours long. As grueling as the length of the days might be, he noted the .95 gravity, which would make it a bit easier for them to move around.

"Bring her down gently Tom." Chakotay seated himself at tactical.

"Aye, Commander."

The shuttle shuddered slightly as it met the ground.

Chakotay lent Kathryn a friendly shoulder, supporting part of her weight as she joined them. She shouldn't have been up and about only a couple of hours after her last procedure, but at least she was allowing his help. The Doctor was optimistic that the effects of the inflammation should dissipate quickly.

She raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun that was just dipping below the horizon.

"I never knew that a day in the Delta Flyer could last so long. And I was wondering why I avoided annual checkups."

Janeway took her weight off Chakotay's shoulder, settling tiredly beside him, only brushing against his seat. The captain's eyes followed the horizon, watching the first escape pods landing.

Tom sat down on the dusty ground, inches from B'elanna,

"It's been one hell of a day."

He drew circles in the fine sand, swirling the browns and greys into marbled designs.

"The day isn't over yet Tom."

"Ahh, B'elanna, why so glum? We're alive, aren't we?"

"For now."

B'elanna turned her head to watch the last millimeters of the sun disappear into darkness. Tom stood up silently and moved some earth with his boot. B'elanna paid no attention to him, she was lost in thoughts that no one could decipher. She was going over schematics and what-ifs that might have kept the crew from this arid planet. Torres thought about Tom, and Chakotay, and Janeway. She watched Tom from the corner of her eye as he walked across camp to find Harry. She straightened her legs and leaned back on her elbows, closing her eyes just...for a moment.

"The sky is beautiful, isn't it Tuvok?"

Kathryn examined her friends face as she caught up to his pace from close behind him.

"The refraction of the light on the dust particles in the atmosphere is...aesthetically pleasing."

She smiled up at him.

"It is beautiful..."

"Captain, I believe...due to your recent medical status, it would be best for you to return to the shuttle. You need to keep warm and sleep. I will check the remainder of the crew for reports."

Tuvok watched his captain pick up her pace and walk in the direction of the shuttle silently.  
 _Old friend, this voyage is wearing you down..._

Kathryn worked on crossing the last few rocky meters to the shuttle.

"Good Evening Captain, may I get your opinion of something in the shuttle...concerning Voyager?"

Kathryn smiled one of her crooked smiles.  
"I'd be delighted Chakotay."

He took her hand and led her up the shuttle's ramp, guiding her to the forward section. Chakotay activated past and current sensor logs concerning the anomaly they'd encountered before having to abandon ship. A grid appeared over the faint image of the dust cloud. The undulous streams of matter darkened in the center with each passing second.

"The subspace fluctuations have ceased to grow further than 10,000 kilometers in diameter. That's the good news"

"Good news Chakotay? Please don't tell me the bad news is worse..."

Chakotay pointed to the right side of the anomaly on the screen.

"Over the last couple of hours the anomaly has been advancing towards Voyager herself...with Voyager dead in the water, unless we get her moving soon, there won't be a ship to get back to."

The captain's eyes scanned over the image on the console, rereading the information in front of her.

"There has to be something we can do, what about the Botlians? They seemed friendly from what we saw of them, and they're only three days travel from where the ship is. There has to be someone who can help us."

Desperation creeped into the undertones of her voice.

"The Botlians are an option, but they don't have a very well established governmental system. They may end up pirating Voyager, rather than helping us to recover her."

Janeway left a path of solemn thoughts behind her as she left her officer standing alone in the Delta Flyer.

As she stepped out of the Delta Flyer, Janeway saw a dozen fires spotting the surrounding area. She walked to the first campfire, then the second, smiling at the crewmen she saw when she was scanning faces, offering words of comfort. A warm hand came to rest on the right shoulder of her uniform.

"Captain, what are you looking for?"

Harry Kim's youthful voice startled the Captain.

"Have you seen Tom lately Harry? I need to speak with him."

"No. The last time I saw him he was with B'elanna trying to cheer her up. They were headed to sit down at the far fire."

Harry pointed to the lone globe of light farthest away from the Delta Flyer, and tucked close to two escape pods.

"Good, I need to talk with them both."

The captain jogged away from Harry and toward the fire, barely sidestepping a sleeping crewman from stellar cartography. She felt a twinge in her neck, hoping she didn't have a headache coming on.

"Tom, B'elanna, I need your ideas on something."

Janeway stopped a few feet short of reaching the fire, letting a little smile creep onto her face. B'elanna was half asleep in Tom's enfolding arms.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I interrupted anything."

B'elanna stood and straightened her uniform, Tom following suit.

"No, Captain, it's all right, you aren't interrupting anything."

Janeway walked until she was shoulder to shoulder with the two members of her senior staff. She handed them the padd with Voyager's status and sensor reports on the screen.

"B'elanna, what would we need to get the engines up and running on Voyager?"  
B'elanna studied the padd.

"To 'jump-start' a ship as big as voyager we would need a short burst of an amazing amount of energy. It would be hard to find such a concentration...I mean, ships don't just go _dead_ like Voyager did."

"Could we get anything near that amount from the energy being vented by the subspace tear?"

B'elanna considered the Captains suggestion.

"I doubt it. The vented energy from subspace even collected and condensed couldn't cause the ships systems to come back to life. I could try it. If we're lucky we may be able to bring a few systems on line with energy from subspace, but there's no way in hell we could start the whole ship up like that..."

B'elanna snapped her fingers to emphasize her point.

Kathryn found her way back to the Delta Flyer. Parts of the crew's conversation echoed in her ears. She laughed to herself quietly when she heard Naomi excitedly telling tales of heroism in her Flotter program to a group of science personnel, including her mother.

Conversation spotted on ship's subjects, department reports, and old memories. Some of the conversation involved Kathryn herself. A few of the groups grew quiet when she approached, sending chills up her spine. She knew she'd been harsher than normal lately. But she thought she'd been getting closer to her crew outside of her duties. She'd initially imposed detached facade employed by Starfleet, but that was impractically lonely in these circumstances.

She stepped into the Delta flyer, a decidedly pensive smile on her face, bordering on a frown. She was tired. Just tired. Everything that had happened that day had wheedled her resolve and her body down to shreds. She didn't have to see Chakotay sitting towards the back of the forward section to know he was there. And he was watching her. She knew he knew she was tired.

"Tom and B'elanna are trying to come up with a way to "jump-start" Voyager's systems. Have you had any luck finding out what caused the power failure, or where the weapon came from?"

Chakotay stood and stretched his legs, setting the padd in his hands on the operations console.

"What I have found so far points to the possibility that weapons fire came from subspace, and that same energy blast is what caused the power drain. We should look into the possibility of a ship hiding within that subspace tear. It's a dangerous position, but for an advanced species, it may be as easy to navigate as a nebula. The weapon itself didn't cause any damage to Voyager that I can find. But there is a chance that the weapons beam may have interfaced with our shields in order to access other power sources on the ship. We may have been able to stop the drain by resisting the urge to send more power to the shields."

Janeway worked in her mind to sort out all the new information.

"We're at a standstill right now Captain, maybe we should get some rest. A new fresh pair of eyes in the morning could turn up something in the rabble."

Kathryn nodded.

"I'm awake. But you look like you could use some sleep."

She turned to the helm and started a run of calculations to evaluate the possibility of a ship positioned within the tear in subspace and where it would be.

"Kathryn, you need dinner and sleep...listen to me...as much as you hate to admit it, you're still on the mend. You weren't capable of taking care of yourself before, maybe you should start."

His tone wasn't defying, or degrading. Just concerned. She had little fight in her right now anyways.

"I'll go to bed in a couple of hours, Chakotay."

He began for the aft section, then thought better of it.

"I'll stay up too. Two heads are better than one."

Kathryn smiled slightly and gestured to the seat next to her. She turned back to the panel she'd started to work with.

Tuvok came into the forward section.

"I have been able to reestablish the communication lattice between the crew's comm badges, and reinitialized power to the local communication network...Seven of Nine and I are going to take a shuttle into the upper atmosphere for the evening to monitor Voyager's status from orbit."

Janeway turned to Tuvok.

"Sharp thinking Mr. Tuvok, report back in the morning. Come back with good news."

"I do not believe I can sway the outcome of the 'news', but I will arrive planet-side at approximately 0700 hours."

The doors sealed behind Tuvok, a slight change in air pressure when the seals activated the airtight atmosphere in the flyer. Kathryn looked at Chakotay, a playful eyebrow raised in imitation of her old friend.

The console behind her rang with a series of short beeps. Kathryn turned in her chair, hands poised to decipher any new information.

"Chakotay! According to this a system on Voyager has recovered power...I don't understand though, the rest of the ship is completely...dead. Life support, it came online a minute ago."

Chakotay shot up from his chair and leaned over Kathryn's shoulder, poising one hand on her left shoulder, and the other above the screen.

"That's strange...too odd."

Chakotay squinted at the screen as if to find a hidden piece of the puzzle, or a cloaked surprise.  
"Something is at work here..."

The lighting in the Delta flyer flickered a couple of times.  
"What was that Chakotay?"  
He went to operations to check sensors.  
"The computer doesn't show anything out of the normal parameter ranges."

Kathryn got up and went to the replicator in the rear section, coming back with two cups of steaming tea.  
"It's going to be a long night."

Chakotay gratefully took the cup she offered him.  
"What? No coffee?  
He smiled.

"I've had enough lately."

"Well, I'll be. The queen of caffeine has reached her coffee limit. I thought I'd never see the day."

She playfully punched him in the shoulder.  
"The queen of caffeine, huh?"

She sat back down and hugged the cup in her hands.  
Both work on their own console and begin to assemble the puzzle of the day, the data sensors adding complications with every stream they delivered to the command team.

Chakotay caught himself gazing in Kathryn's direction noticing her eyes getting heavier. He put his hand on one of her shoulders.

"Our couple of hours are up..."

She looked at him incredulously.  
"What hours?"

"It's time for bed."

"I'm not that tired, Chakotay. We can't miss any more changes."

"We have Seven in orbit, she won't miss anything."

"Fine."

She stood stiffly and shuffled toward the aft compartment. He sluggishly followed.

"Tuvok to Captain Janeway..."

"Chakotay to Tuvok." Chakotay responded before Kathryn could be disturbed in her sleep.

"Commander, where is the captain?"

Chakotay stole a glance at the bottom bunk across from him.  
"She's asleep."

He kept his eyes on her, watching her dream as she lay on her stomach.  
"Please don't wake her Commander. She may not be readily available for sleep in the coming days."

Chakotay looked at her uniform jacket on the floor. She'd kicked it off in the first minutes of sleep. He draped it over the chair beside him, and carefully, silently, made his way towards the front of the shuttle to continue the conversation.

"Voyager's systems are beginning to reinitiate themselves. Neither Seven of Nine, nor I can discern the cause, but we plan to investigate further..."

"We found the same thing earlier...more systems are powering up? You have my permission to utilize any resources to investigate this further."

"Understood. Tuvok out."

Chakotay sighed and padded to the back of the shuttle. He stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted a figure sitting on his bunk in the dim light, examining the sleeping Captain with its eyes.


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: I had some extra time tonight to get through editing two chapters, since I missed a day earlier this week! Hopefully I'm not editing too fast and missing a bunch of errors and blips in continuity.I didn't want to leave you on a total cliff-hanger! Happy reading. :)

Also, a few spoilers for Mosaic. This is chapter with the most suggestive and violent circumstances. I've rated the whole story as a T, but if you believe it should be more, let me know.

"She's so peaceful, isn't she?"

Chakotay knew he wasn't meant to answer the question.

"Computer, lights...full! Who are you?!"

The man stood and held out his smooth hand in a gesture of greeting.

"I am Quinten."

The commander refrained from shaking the man's hand.

"How did you get here?"

"You are quite a charming fellow..." Quinten leered over Chakotay's form and gave a disgusted snort.

"I thought about it...and it came to be." The handsome man sent Chakotay a wry smile over his shoulder as he turned to face the sleeping captain again.

Chakotay started to speak in an increased volume, but suddenly was at a total loss for words.

"Are you a Q?" He had just enough breath to whisper. He felt his anger rising all the way to the tips of his ears.

"No my friend, but close. I had a human father. This human/Q mating complex seems to have spread."

There was a twinkle in Quinten's eyes and he clicked his tongue.

The entire Voyager crew appeared back on the ship in an instant.  
Chakotay saw the senior staff on the bridge for only a moment before he disappeared and then reappeared in the captain's quarters. She was still sleeping, but in her own bed.  
He strode toward her, but Quinten blocked his way.

"I don't think so..."

She faded away and materialized on her living room couch.

"Okay...Quinten, what do you want?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Let's take this conversation out of these quarters...shall we?"

Quinten bowed toward Chakotay and they were on the empty bridge of Voyager.

"We need an alliance. See...you need this alliance too..."

Chakotay closed the distance between himself and the Q.

"We don't NEED any alliances!"

"Oh yes you do dear Chakotay. Without this alliance, your dear, sweet, peaceful Captain will never wake up again."

Quinten smiled the toothy evil smile of the cat that'd just caught the rat.

"What's happening? Who are you?"

Captain Janeway couldn't be dreaming this.  
The room grew unbearably bright...lights in every direction burned white hot.

The heat immediately began to burn Kathryn's fair skin.

"What do you know Star Fleet!?"

The voice stung her ears. A new pain-filled sensation coursed through her body when a Cardassian came around into her line of vision and prodded her.

 _Cardassians in the Delta Quadrant?_

The pain came again from deep down in the pit of her stomach, only fractionally stronger.

Kathryn screamed out for the first time...

"Tell us you pitiful creature!"

She fell to the ground as the pain strung through her body again. Her skin broke out with a cold sweat. Kathryn's lungs tightened into fists and screamed at every breath she fought to take. It couldn't be happening again...her mind went numb, and her joints cramped up when she curled into a secure ball in the middle of the floor.

 _Please, let me see the stars outside of Voyager...little Naomi...Sam...Chakotay!_

She whimpered.

Every muscle in her body spasmed under the energy weapon

 _Is that..._

She took time from her thoughts to screech again.

 _Admiral Paris!_

Her thoughts shouted what her mouth could no longer form through her parched lips.

 _No! Not Again!_

She pulled her knees tighter to her chest, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to escape the terrible feeling scorching her every pore.

Kathryn opened her eyes as her surroundings changed.

The ground trembled under her unsteady legs as she pulled herself to stand.  
Screaming from only meters away pierced over the rumbling of falling rocks.

"Nooooo!"

Kathryn's screams joined the unharmonious symphony of shattering...

She fell to her knees holding her head, shaking herself to banish the memory.

Sobs racked her body and she curled closed to the coarse sand and stone.

"I can't be dreaming this!"

 _Someone wake me up...Chakotay!_

She emptied her lungs with a shrill agony towards the amber, smoky sky...

Her voice ran out, and her throat was sore...she could only whisper now...

"Chakotay...Chakotay...P..Plllease help me..."

Chakotay found himself in the captain's cabin once more, he was immediately drawn to Kathryn's screams of agony.

"Do you want this to stop?"

"YES!"

Chakotay's gaze shifted back to Kathryn as scorch marks began streaking across her face, and melting her sleeves.

"Quinten! What do you want? Stop this! What is this alliance you want?!"

Quinten strode to the captain's bedroom and plopped down at the end of the bed. He winked at Chakotay and Kathryn yelped when she appeared behind the Q, still unconscious, but eyes open, standing…no hanging, like a puppet.

A blood curdling scream came from her, the howl forming Chakotay's name.

"What are you doing to her!?"

"It's just some old...memories...I threw in some of my own creations too...don't worry, she'll live for now."  
-

Kathryn watched it sink...centimeter by centimeter.

 _I have to try again...it'll work this time._

Her fingers rolled over the console. The blood coming from the gash on her forehead blurred her vision.  
Kathryn swiped angrily at the red substance, cursing at the controls in front of her.

"Damn it, why won't it work!" A sob escaped her frantic control.

"There's nothing wrong here!"

She heard her father's screams become muffled...She looked into their eyes...

Justin's pleading green eyes focused on her...he mouthed the three words that shattered her...

I love you...

The icy water rose and rose...

She could only make out their heads...

"Daddy..." her breath hitched.

He smiled sadly and saluted his daughter.

Her soul cried out...she could only see their eyes...blue and green...

The colors swirled and played with the blood and salty tears in her eyes...

The cold surrounded her...the water was calm...unforgiving...

"Captain? Captain Kathryn Janeway...wake up...you need to wake up!"

Tom Paris.

"How did you get here Tom?"

"The Jefferies tubes...there's no other way to get past the Maquis...they're on their way...we have to leave...now!"

The captain climbed up from the floor, walking her hands up the wall. She cringed at the broken ribs she felt. Tom led her to the open tube hatch in her bathroom.

Tom grunted and thumped to the bottom of the tube at the first junction.

"Tom? What's happened?"

"Captain, RUN!"

She turned and crawled forward, ignoring the pain in her sides as she hurried on.

"It's over Kathryn.."

The calm voice came from behind her.

"Chakotay? Are you.."

She saw the betrayal flashing unadulterated in his eyes...

He lunged toward her, pining her to the wall of the tube by her neck

"NO!" Chakotay covered his ears to dull the sounds of Kathryn's screaming...she wanted help...

"Will you help me?" Quinten's tone was unforgivingly nonchalant.

"Yes, Quinten, I'll help you. Whatever you want."

Quinten Smiled.

"As soon as our mission is completed, the captain will be returned to consciousness unharmed."

Chakotay could hear Kathryn whimpering again.

"What do I need to do?" He felt like he'd just made a pact with the devil.

Quinten stood from his seat and approached Chakotay.

"Well, first off...we can't do anything here..."  
-

The Q bowed and they both materialized in an abandoned city...  
Chakotay saw the remains of the Golden Gate Bridge tumbling into the bay. Everywhere around him fires were burning in marbled gold-red that emitted heavy black smoke into the grey sky. The remnants of once glorious buildings littered the cracked and destroyed roads. Decomposing bodies laid, rather sprawled, and littered the rubble. Chakotay could feel his lungs contracting harshly at the thick air.

"I need this alliance to save the Q Continuum. My mother has decided to wage a war against the Continuum. Something about unfair treatment of lower life forms probably since my father was human. My mother was killed almost a month ago by execution, carried out by the Continuum. I've brought you here to help me find the Q who killed my mother...he was the one who framed her for a crime in the Continuum, the one who carried out the execution...I seek vengeance."

Chakotay's face remained neutral.

"So it seems that every time a Q is in trouble, or they fall in love, or they want to commit suicide, they have to bother the Voyager crew?"

Quinten Smiled.

"Well, Voyager, especially her captain, is a top choice in the Q continuum. A ship stranded in the middle of nowhere, no one to look out for her. A Q could throw Voyager around, and there's nothing anyone could do about it. You couldn't defend yourselves against us. Jean-Luc does get a bit jealous sometimes though."

Chakotay was angry. Infuriated. He knew he wasn't an inferior creature, and no one deserved what the Q did to them sometimes. No being, not even Q, had the right to be so...arrogant.

 _If only these omnipotent bastards could find someone else to jerk around.  
_  
The sounds of Kathryn's horror filled Chakotay's head, reminding him of what he had to do.

Chakotay grabbed her arms and pined them to the small of her back. She was allowed to pull away from the tube wall. He tied her hands in place and began dragging her through the Jefferies tubes.

"Chakotay, why are you doing this? Let me go!"

He pulled her through a hatch and out into an empty corridor. Kathryn struggled to her feet.

"It'd be wise of you to keep your pretty little mouth shut."

He pulled hard on her tied arms, forcing her to walk in front of him.

Chakotay led her to the turbolift.

"What's going on Chakotay? Where are you taking me?"

He turned her around and stopped them both. His arms shoved her shoulders and easily knocked her to the ground.

"Stop Talking."

She peered up at him in surprised.

"Well, Kathryn. If you've been eluding me and keeping me out of your quarters for so long, how do you expect me to treat you? With respect? You should have surrendered with the rest. When you were shot I thought we'd had you. I never expected you to have this much fight in you."

Chakotay followed Kathryn's eyes when she gazed down at the dried blood on the right side of the hip on her uniform. She hadn't noticed it before. Her torso was just one big ball of acute misery.

"Stand up."

She complied and he grabbed her by the back of the neck, forcing her forward again to the back wall of the 'lift.

"Do what I say, and you'll be fine, Kathryn."

They stepped together off the turbo lift, and began walking slowly towards the cargo bays.

"Chakotay to B'elanna...open the doors to cargo bay two. I've got the captain."

The doors whooshed open.

He removed his hand from her neck and grabbed her shoulders, pushing her hastily through the doors.

-  
"How am I supposed to help you Quinten?"

"You're going to kill Q."

Chakotay was puzzled.

"One thing... A Q is impossible to kill, unless the Continuum does the job..."

Quinten raised an eyebrow and one corner of his mouth edged upwards.

"There's a way now."

Chakotay pushed Kathryn into the arms of a Kazon.

She looked back at him. For the first time in the years he'd spent getting to know her, he'd never seen her gaze at anyone in the same way.

The look in her eyes wasn't one of alarm, or betrayal, but of utter terror.

The Kazon pushed her to a corner.

"I don't want to have to see her in sickbay, it's a waste of resources. No hefty injuries, Ralhel."

"Aye, sir."

 _An alliance with the Kazon? It can't be possible. Even if Chakotay has seen it fit to bring on a mutiny, there is no way he would voluntarily forge this alliance. This is a dream though...anything can happen. Chakotay is probably sleeping in the Delta Flyer still, less than five feet away._

The Kazon towered over Janeway. He took a running start. It gave her warning. His face was an ugly grimace that some called a smile. His sadistic eyes bore into her for the moments it took him to cross the few meters towards her. Instinctively Kathryn moved quickly out of the warrior's path. He slammed into the bulkhead with pure brute force.

"Come here!"

She made it a point to back her way along the wall to another end of the cargo bay.

Ralhel picked himself up and sprinted for her again. This time when Kathryn moved to avoid being in the angry man's path, he altered course, heading straight for her again.

She felt herself bounce off of the wall behind her and she slid into a heap on the floor. Her vision was spinning...or her head was going in circles...she couldn't tell which. Half in and half out of consciousness, she didn't feel the booted feet connect with her body...only the torment the contact caused. When the stinging, burning sensation unraveling in her body got peaked, it all went away...

"30, Love."

Kathryn opened her eyes and spotted something flying towards her. Cutting the thick wet air with its path. The neon green came closer...faster...splitting the light fog on the court.

The air clung to her bare legs. Kathryn looked at the racket in her hand, then looked back up, realization where she was hitting her head on. She swung without volition, hitting the ball back to the other side of the net.

 _Which match is this? I've played hundreds of times...  
_  
She took the time to glance at the inside of her left ankle. She couldn't see the scar.

 _I'm not eighteen yet...so...  
_  
Her racket hit the ball again, straight into the net.  
-

Quinten led Chakotay into a perfectly pristine building...one of the few.

"To kill a Q you have to find that specific Q's weak spot. When we finally evolved to the point of immortality, the Continuum thought it best that we all pick a part of our being that be pervious to any weapon. Other Q, with exception of the instances we must execute, and half Q such as me are forbidden to enter the archives that store the records that have all the Q weaknesses listed. You CAN enter. The Q you are familiar with on Voyager is the man you seek to dispose of. I can go no further than this point. Find the information, or your beloved Captain Janeway will die by your hand."

Quinten gestured towards a grey door towards the back of the building.

Chakotay walked through the door silently, expecting something cosmic to occur.

Nothing happened at first...

Thousands of images flashed before his eyes with no warning, with no pause, with no discrimination. Chakotay saw Q, humans, borg, the creation of planets, Kathryn, Earth, Species 8472, his child hood, unfamiliar people, graves, oceans, futures, pasts, and the present. The moving image of the familiar Q stood in front of his eyes, it showed him with is child...smiling and laughing. The recording Chakotay hoped to find began...coming into better focus for his eyes. The image magnified Q's head, pausing the man's movement, and going closer and closer and closer. Focus was solely on a spot behind Q's right ear. Chakotay ingrained the image and point in his memory.

The room cleared its self of all imagery. Chakotay started to back out.

Quinten's smile was memorable...evil. Demonic.

"It's behi..."

"Don't tell me. It would put a price on my head so-to-speak."

Chakotay nodded compliantly. The two men strolled out of the structure.

Two chairs stood in the rubble. Quinten held his hand out, offering a seat to Chakotay.

"Now, to give you a reward..."

Chakotay didn't believe it.

"How about you let my captain wake up, and skip all of the rewards."

"Oh, but that isn't the agreement Mr. Chakotay. She wakes up if and when you destroy the Q."

Chakotay nodded.

"I never agreed to any rewards. Let's just get on with our so-called 'mission'."

Chakotay felt himself falling unwillingly to sleep.

"Seven have you had progress gaining access to the Captain's quarters?"

Tuvok heard the Captain shrieking from behind the sealed doors.

"The circuits that control the doors and hatches leading to the Captain's quarters have fused. Transporter room one is attempting to beam Commander Chakotay and Captain Janeway from the Captain's quarters every thirty seconds. Though there are no indications that there is a security field or a force field, no lock can be established, therefore, all transporter attempts have failed."

"Continue your efforts. Contact me of any changes. Tuvok to Lieutenant Torres."

Tuvok examined the circuits again for himself. He kneeled close to the open panel beside the captain's door.

"Torres here."

"How are the repairs in engineering proceeding Lieutenant?"

"Warp drive will be back online within the hour. We have nearly a third of Voyager's critical systems back to peak efficiency."

"Your work and determination are appreciated. Tuvok out."  
-

He opened his eyes slowly, almost afraid of what he might see. The room was dark except for the stars streaking by.

 _Great Now I'm dreaming about Kathryn.  
_  
Warm breath played briefly across the nape of his neck, sending shivers down to the small of his back. He reacted quickly, standing up beside the bed.

 _Wait, Wait, this is not my bed. Hell, these aren't even my quarters. Familiar...damn they're Kathryn's. Kathryn's?_

His eyes moved down to the figure that had been so close to him without his knowing. The porcelain-white face was radiant in the dim light. Her golden-copper hair surrounded her like a halo, splayed across the pastel blue pillows. He leaned closer.

 _This is the captain's quarters...and that's the captain.  
_  
He was shocked by his easy revelation. She stirred and shifted to lie on her side. The blanket slipped down to reveal Kathryn's bare shoulders and chest to Chakotay. He hesitated as he found his wits. He moved his hands silently, slowly, carefully, to pull the blanket to her chin.

Chakotay looked down at himself. His mouth formed a knowing "O", and he grabbed his shorts and shirt from the chair by the bathroom.

His feet took him to the living room and a voice came from the room he had just left. It was a sultry groan.

"Ohhh, Chakotay? Come back to bed..."  
He noticed her voice was softer than he'd ever heard, almost a growl... then he heard her sigh. Her tone was even begging him to come.

Chakotay stood still hoping she would fall back to sleep. _Spirits, what is this?_

A voice came to his ear from nowhere.  
"This is a reward for you're good work."

"Quinten!" He whispered the defiant Q's name. "This is no reward!" The whispers got louder.

"Oh yes it is, Commander. She's still in there waiting...whether this is real or not...you can still have fun."

Quinten was visible now, standing a meter from Chakotay.

Small arms wrapped around Chakotay's waist from behind. Kathryn whispered into his ear a few incoherent words.

"Chakotay, who's this?"

He ignored the fire she was burning into his back with her embrace. It didn't work. She pulled him closer, tighter against her chest.

"Quinten, this may be a dream, or not. It doesn't matter. It can never be a reality. It has been made clear. Kathryn and I are strictly friends. Just friends."

Quinten raised an eyebrow.

"You don't really mean that..."  
Her words tickled against his ear.

Kathryn started kissing Chakotay's neck and shoulders. The only thing he could think to do wasn't the most appealing to him, but he had to do it. He just hoped that his voice wouldn't lose what he had left of control. He spun and put his hands onto her shoulders to create a distance between them. The rogue Q looked on quietly.

"I'm sorry Kathryn, but..."

She kissed his chest and moved her hands to the hem of his t-shirt. His resolve was going fast.

"Stop It!"  
His voice faltered slightly and took to shouting with the last words. Her eyes went wide and welled with tears. _Damn, I hurt her._

"Poor, Poor man, you can't love. That's it, isn't it?" Quinten's tone was mockingly happy.

When Chakotay turned his attention back to his Kathryn, she was gone. He glanced around the room. She was on the couch; her arms folded across her chest and her legs crossed. She was laying, asleep again. She had tears running down her cheeks.

"Well, Mr. Chakotay, if you don't want me, then well, I'll just leave."

Quinten imitated the Captain's voice perfectly.

"Don't you dare do anything to her!"  
Chakotay could feel his face getting redder.

"Aww you do care." Quinten pouted.  
His face was almost compassionate. The room around them disappeared.  
-

San Francisco was still a disaster area when they arrived back.

"Thank You."

"Mr. Chakotay. I will take you to Q, but you will have to be the one to kill him."

Chakotay signaled his comprehension.

"So it's as easy as that, just kill him, nothing more complicated? Then you will return the Captain?"

Quinten nodded his head.  
A tell-tale flash transported the men to Voyager.

"Q is here?"

They walked along the corridor to the mess hall.

"Yes."


	7. Chapter 6

She heard the sound of Admiral Paris' tortured voice howling from across the room. His aged figure stumbled in front of her eyes in dire need of medical assistance. The screams from adjoining chambers in the Cardassian facility traveled to her ears.

 _This is too vivid. It can't be a dream. There's no way...What's happening? I'm not an ensign anymore...I'm the Captain of the U.S.S. Voyager..._

Most of the Cardassians left the cell. The only remaining upright figure stood deathly still, his disruptor resting across his shoulder. The rest of the Cardassians spoke of their disappointment when they were outside in the hall. Who knew non-reaction to torture was so disgusting?

Kathryn rushed to the side of the Admiral, examining his injuries with her probing fingers. She glanced at her own beaten and battered body for a moment.

"Don't worry Admiral, it'll all be over soon. The guards have left...they have nothing else to gain by hurting us anymore..."

She had to swallow the blood streaming down her throat from her bitten tongue before she could continue.

"We'll be home soon."

 _Soon after the guards leave the second time...Rawlings should have the Star Fleet Rangesr here for the rescue._

"Admiral...is this the second time the Cardassions have left?"

The man was unconscious.

 _Please let the rescue come...I can't go through this torture again...not Urtea II again...  
_

The mess hall was dim and deserted. No stars streamed outside of the view ports. Dead space surrounded Chakotay.

Quinten turned to face Chakotay, a primitive, deadly looking weapon in his hands. It was barbaric, un-evolved...overkill.

"It works. Don't worry commander."

Q appeared across the mess hall.

"Quinten, I see you've found the perfect wilderness biped-type to do your bidding. I thought that pleasant borg friend of his would have been more efficient."

The omnipotent beings walked in a circle, face to face as if they were preparing to duel.  
Chakotay's feet stayed frozen in place; he didn't dare move as the entire room started spinning in sync with the two Q. Images similar to the ones he'd seen earlier in San Francisco shot from the walls of the mess hall to the center of the Q-generated cyclone. Chakotay felt the powerful wind being generated from the beings, trying to knock him from ground.

What he saw was indescribable...at least no human could accurately find words for it. The Q dissolved into their true forms. Light from every color in the spectrum circled around the room, every image, every species, every part of the universe swirled in with everything else, creating something so powerful, so beautiful, so full of emotions, feelings, and consciousness, Chakotay had to close his eyes to clear his mind for just a second of respite from the cacophony.

They were men, only simple men a moment later. No cosmos collided. Chakotay thanked the spirits.

"Now, Quinten, how is this fair? An oaf of a human against me? Shall we even up the odds?"

Q snapped his fingers, looking straight into Quinten's eyes.

Kathryn appeared beside Chakotay, baffled.

"Oh don't worry Quinten, she isn't too dangerous. Her real consciousness is still in the memory playground."

"Well, Chuckles, take your best shot."

-  
"Seven of Nine to Lieutenant Tuvok. I believe that I have circumvented the problem in the doors access parameters. You may enter the Captain's quarters now."

Tuvok entered his security code into the panel and the door slid smoothly to the side.

"Tuvok?"

He heard her voice but he couldn't see the Captain.

"Tuvok, I need your help, Admiral Paris needs your help!"

Tuvok stepped in from the corridor.

It wasn't the Captain's quarters. It was a cell in a brig on a Class III Cardassian ship. Tuvok spotted the huddled figure of the Captain in a corner, tending to the unconscious Admiral.

He crossed the cell to be by her side.

"Captain we must leave immediately."

Kathryn turned towards her Vulcan friend. She hadn't realized her pleading would actually summon the man.

"Tuvok, we can't _leave_ , somehow we're on Urtea II. I don't know how you got here, but..."

She disappeared into thin air mid-sentence. Around Tuvok, the cell faded into the Captain's quarters.

"Tuvok to bridge...scan the ship for any unusual readings. I have just experienced a change of environment, not customary in the Captain's quarters."

Harry activated a ship-wide scan.

A few minutes later he opened a channel to Tuvok: "All ship systems are operating normally. Crew compliment shows two unknown entities in the mess hall. The only crewman near them is Chakotay. His life signs are a bit erratic, but he is unharmed. The captain is no longer aboard."

Tuvok arrived on the bridge. "Computer, initiate red alert. Tuvok to security, dispatch a security team to the aft entrance of the mess hall. Wait for my arrival to proceed."

********************

Janeway looked at the graveyard of ships.

"The U.S.S. Nobel."  
She whispered the name to herself.

"Captain we are detecting life signs...they're borg. Shall I fire?"

"No."  
The old news reports rolled through her head.

Earth was nearly decimated in some places, half the fleet of ships was gone.

Starfleet was nearly destroyed . The U.S.S. Nobel was sent to help in the clean-up operations after Wolf 359.

Janeway spotted the body of a drone floating across the view screen. If only the guilt of surviving wasn't going to weigh her down for years to come.

-

"B'Elanna to Bridge, there is something strange happening down here in engineering"

"I'm on my way." Tom responded.

B'elanna stood in awe beside one of her crewman in engineering. Tom found his way to her side when he arrived.

"What is it?"

"The ship reengaged without a command into warp towards the Alpha Quadrant, but it isn't quite warp anymore, it's something else. We were running diagnostics after we all appeared back on the ship, and it just randomly initialized. A couple minutes ago it changed."

"If not warp Ms. Torres, what is our current status?"

B'elanna examined the readings one last time.

"Moving at approximately fifty-seven light-years per minute. At our current speed, we'll reach Earth in a matter of days, rather than years and decades."

They'd barely had time to gain their bearings after reappearing on the ship and now everything was getting strange.

-  
Circles of light engulfed the Q as anger resonated between them.

"Mr. Chakotay, I believe you are well aware of what you must do."  
Quinten's angry voice shook Chakotay. He handled the elongated knife in his hand.

"No one can place the blame on your shoulders Commander. The Continuum has a price on his head! They have for a long while."

"Chakotay, why couldn't Quinten do his own dirty work? Really think about it. His threats and weaknesses. How could it be that he couldn't kill me himself. Everything he's told you has been a lie. He only seeks revenge for something that he caused all by himself."

Chakotay turned to Quinten.

"Is that true?" He had to shout at Quinten over the din in the mess hall.

The room became silent all at once.

"Remember your captain. You're the one who's supposed to protect her aren't you? You said it yourself, twice I believe."

Kathryn's cries filled the mess. Chakotay covering his ears, muffling the sounds,.

"Oh, give me that..." Quinten grabbed the knife from Chakotay...impatience weighing heavily on his countenance.

"I'll cut you into microscopic pieces if I have to Q. You won't leave this place alive."

The Q began to circle each other once more.

A growl filled the room, but the sound wasn't coming from either man in front of Chakotay's eyes. Chakotay stepped out of the ring of light just in time to spot an animal of monstrous size leaping towards him.

No Terra Nova, nor Urtea II. This wasn't as horrifying as the U.S.S. Nobel at Wolf 359…or even the Billings. She'd been here a million times.

Kathryn leaned just close enough to see over the edge of the cliff. She was about half-way up her favorite climbing route.

"Kath, lets go!"

She turned to the voice.

"Mark?"

"No, silly, Captain Kirk. Of course."

He started to scale the stone wall face.

"Well Kath, aren't you coming? Your mom said we had to be to your house before dark. We'll never get there in time. What'll your dad do to me if I don't get you home on time?"

He smiled down at her.

Kathryn looked carefully at Mark's face. He was twenty, maybe twenty-one. She remembered climbing and repelling on this ridge dozens of times with him.

Kathryn looked down at the jingling ornament around her wrist. It was the one bracelet she never took off when she was younger. It was from Mark, from their brief romance when they were teenagers before they decided they were better off as friends. Little did they know they'd change their minds again only to be torn apart by the Caretaker. _  
_  
She heard him drive the first piton into the rock above. She tried to focus her stray thoughts and concentrate on hooking her harness to the slack rope. A moment later she was scaling the cliff behind Mark.

"You're awfully quiet, what's wrong Kath?"

He halted his ascent to glance down.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking."

"About what your dad'll do when we're home an hour too late?"

"Yeah."

Mark always knew when Kathryn had something on her mind. He would let her think without question. That's one of the things she always liked about him. He knew when to let her have her peace.

She used her newfound foothold to send herself up nearly a meter. Something damp and heavy hit the back of her hand.

"Mark, I think your pack is leaking."

"We only have a dozen meters to go, it shouldn't be too much of a trouble. I'll check it when we get to the top."

He continued upwards unhindered by the conversation. Another sprinkle of water, and another, and another hit Kathryn's brow.

"It's starting to rain, we need to hurry so we can be on level ground before the thunder and lightning come."

The rain began descending in thick sheets, beating against the climbers. The leaves on the trees below them were bent towards the ground. Mud was streaming down the smooth surfaces of the cliff, oozing onto grasping fingers.

Marks left hand lost grip on the dampened rope sending him sliding down the rope a scant two meters.

"Are you all right?" Kathryn looked up, rain pelting her face.

He began climbing without an answer.

The rain was ripping into Kathryn's arms stinging the very pores in her skin.

Behind him Mark barely heard his friend grunt in frustration. He looked below to see her hanging loosely from the rope. She was a meter from the wall, staying as still as she could. Her slight weight pulled the rope taut.

"I'm all right."

"We'll be up top soon Kath, swing over and keep climbing."

Her hand came up to grip the rope tightly. _Damn, it's wet._

Slowly her knuckles went white with her frantic hold on the rope, and her hands slipped fractionally, slowly, painfully down the fibers of the rope. The rope burn became nearly unbearable before her hands released of own volition.

"MARK!"

She scrambled hurriedly at the rope, gaining no traction with her hands on the slick surface.

 _I remember this…_ She was thinking, cringing at what she knew was to come…

 _I'll fall…the rope can't stop me; Mark can't help me._

Her mind searched for another way to prevent what was coming.

Kathryn slid further and further down the face of the rock, pebbles tumbling as she slammed the jagged surface. Hope coursed through her body when she grabbed hold of a sure piece of rope for only a moment. It only worked to slow her fall by fractions…she didn't feel the pain when she hit the shelf.

Kathryn hit the hard ground. The rain around her didn't register in her ears. The rocks falling beside her from Mark's descent and his frantic yelling made no sound in her mind. All Kathryn heard was the sickening crack echo within the bones of her body. She pulled herself into a sitting position when she regained her faculties, gazing between her rope-burned hands and her oddly positioned leg. The bone was peeking out of the skin from above her ankle. Her crimson blood turned to amber in the brown rainwater flowing from the rocks above.

"Kath! Oh, your leg…"

Mark kneeled beside her, loosening the harness from her body.

"We need to get you home as fast as we can…you're bleeding is severe…"

The harness dropped to the ground. Mark lifted Kathryn into his arms, discarding all the equipment he could spare. He began running along the long hiking path that led to the Janeway residence. Kathryn stayed still in her friend's arms, not willing to tempt the pain to get worse.

-

Chakotay was right in the flight path of an oversized coyote. He backed into the rings of light. The sights and sounds of the circling, dueling Q blurred together, blinding him. The rumbling became louder and louder, rising from the bowels of the ship beneath him.

Chakotay finally made his decision. He glanced at the coyote, calmly walking the perimeter of the mess hall, waiting for him to return. Chakotay leapt toward Quinten, pinning him to the ground.

The cyclone, the light, the sound…all of it stopped as the stone hard glare between the two Q was broken. Chakotay grabbed the knife from Q's hand. He used his free hand to lock Quinten's hands behind his back.

"Think about your captain…do you want to kill her?"

"I'm not killing my captain. I'm killing you. You really don't need my help to kill Q. If you die, Captain Janeway will wake up. You killed your own mother…didn't you?"

It was a wild guess on Chakotay's part, but it was the only thing that made sense. Q did not believe in murdering other Q. Quinten's mouth dropped open just slightly, betraying his surprise.

"Quinten. You're half-human…so theoretically you can be killed much easier. Can't you? You've known that, and you were hoping I was stupid enough to never find out, weren't you?"

Chakotay gripped the knife tightly with his hands. His knuckles turned bone-white under the undue stress. He raised the metal weapon above Quinten's chest.

Both Q stopped breathing, time stilling in the anticipation of catastrophe. Chakotay filled his hollow lungs with stale air, trying to grasp what this moment meant in time and what was to come if he was to kill this monster.

The weapon came down swiftly, leaving a blazing orange trail in its wake. The glow of the room brightened for only a moment, blinding every eye, both Q and human. Chakotay didn't hesitate in the knife's descent as it mercilessly tore through the flesh of the mongrel Q.

The blade cut cleanly through Quinten's breastbone, and lodged through his spine, peeking out through the skin and cloth on his back. The leather handle slid from the commander's grasp, catapulting its self through the speechless Q.

The storm roared overhead. The comm was useless in the storm, and the lights flickered. They wouldn't be able to get her to a med center. Luckily, her father was a trained medic. She hadn't gotten that far in her Starfleet training yet.

Kathryn gasped desperately for the air that surrounded her. Edward Janeway gathered his wits for only a moment before he pushed again, sending his daughters broken bones painfully into place. Mark kept his head turned away, gritting his teeth as he held his best friend firmly in his arms.

-

Chakotay opened his eyes. The grey and white coyote was lying dead beneath him.

Both Q had disappeared.

The coyote was the only death in the room.

They didn't even make sense in death. Damned Q.

-

Kathryn felt all the air being sucked out of her lungs, an invisible hand squeezing her life from the very erratic beating of her heart. A rush of burning, tingling cold surrounded her, covering her entire body. She was too weak to resist the scream that bellowed from the very depths of her being.

-

Everything was pitch-black for a single slice of time.

Chakotay chanced opening his eyes, to see the captain's quarters spread before him.

Kathryn's sharp intake of breath carried to his ears from the adjoining room. She shot from her bed, a sudden terror coursing through her veins. What horror would it be this time?

"Chakotay?"

Her voice was shaky, cautious.

He smiled at her, not sure that the moment was ready for words.

She sighed. "No mutiny? No Kazon?"

He nodded.

Chakotay would have smiled had he not been knocked breathless by the arms wrapping around him in a relieved rush of warmth.

"It's over Kathryn."

Her entire body stiffened at the familiar phrase, her hands balled into fists, her legs braced for a fight.

The woman backed away, using the back of one fist to rid herself of the tears streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes were wide with utter surprise.

"What's wrong?" He was confused.

-

"Torres to Tuvok."

They'd just finally managed to gain access to the mess, finding absolutely nothing amiss. He'd sworn there'd been a raging storm within only moments before.

"Yes Lieutenant?"

"The computer just registered the captain back on board."

"What is her current location?"

"Captain's quarters."

Tuvok left the mess hall. He called for deck three in the 'lift.

-

"Stay away from me!"

Kathryn backed towards the end table by the viewport to retrieve her phaser. She aimed it with determined precision at her first officer.

"Don't move."

Chakotay surrendered his hands to the air, playing along with the captain's demands.

-

Tuvok approached the captain's quarters with caution, honing in on the yelling from behind the wall. He drew his phaser, holding it ready for whatever may come when the doors opened.

-

Janeway heard the mechanical hiss of the doors behind her and she spun to meet the new arrival. She wavered, unsure where to point her weapon. She shook like a threatened animal, her nerves raw and her eyes wild and unfocused.

"Tuvok?"

She trained her weapon back onto her first officer.

"Captain, please lower your weapon. We can solve the dilemma that has taken place without casualties."

She shook her head, refusing to lower the weapon.


	8. Chapter 7

"Paris to Torres, what's going on? We just dropped out of warp."

"I know that Tom! You know as much as I do, the warp core just went off-line. There was no warning…just nothing all of a sudden. I can tell you this, we'll never get that speed again."

"Try and get her up and running B'elanna."

-

"The gel-packs are functioning, nacelles within normal parameters, the ship has a full power supply. Seven do you have any idea what's going on?"

"As Tom Paris would phrase it, there is no light bulb flashing inside of my head."

"So you need a light bulb huh?"

"Q!" B'elanna's temper rose quickly at the unexpected arrival.

Q snapped his fingers and an old fashioned light bulb appeared in the palm of his right hand. He handed it to Seven. The bulb started flickering, finally turning on completely.

"Any bright ideas?"

Q giggled at his own joke.

"Torres to Tuvok, intruder alert."

No response.

"Oh, he has a dilemma of his own he has to deal with…I'd rather watch that anyway…TaTa."

Q disappeared with flash.

"Captain I must advise you to lower your weapon."

She glanced quickly at her tactical officer before returning her gaze to Chakotay.

"NO!"

She focused back on Chakotay. She fired. The glowing stream hit Chakotay squarely in the chest, knocking him flat onto the floor.

Janeway swung around, settling her aim quickly on Tuvok.

She fired.

The shot missed Tuvok by mere millimeters.

In response Tuvok hit the trigger on his phaser, taking his captain to the ground with the first shot. He approached her slowly, kicking the phaser further away from her.

"Tuvok to the Doctor."

"Lieutenant?'

"Prepare for incoming patients." He looked at his superiors. "Tuvok to transporter room one, three to transport to sickbay. The captain, myself and Commander Chakotay."

-

The Doctor puzzled for a moment at the two unconscious figures lying sprawled on the sickbay floor. He rolled his eyes.

"We get her back on board finally and you shoot both of them?"

"Your assumption is incorrect. I only stunned the Captain after she shot Commander Chakotay."

Tuvok assisted the Doctor in lifting the two officers onto biobeds.

"My comment stands."

-

Kathryn awoke in sickbay. The lights were dimmed with the night-cycle of the ship and a soft singing floated around the room from the med.-lab. She let her eyes wander around the sickbay. All of the other beds were vacant as far as she could tell. She did her best to sit up.

The doctor paused in his ministrations to evaluate the movement his audio processors registered. He strode across the sickbay to the captain's side.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

"What day is it Doctor? How many days since I first came back on board?"

"We all got back to the ship three days ago, you need rest…"

-

Chakotay tossed and turned in his bed. He'd been without sleep for so long, yet he couldn't even find it in his himself to welcome a sensible cat nap. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Quinten and he said the same thing every time. It sent chills down his spine.

"You haven't killed him, and neither have I. Your captain will never be safe. I can take her in an instant."

 _I can't take this anymore.  
_  
Chakotay activated the lights and dressed quickly.

He walked into the empty corridor.

 _Maybe walking the ship can get my mind to wander somewhere else.  
_  
After bargaining with the Doctor to exchange an over-night stay for a morning visit, Kathryn shuffled from sickbay. She arrived at Chakotay's door without even thinking about it. She activated the door chime.

If only she could find the right words to apologize. There was no answer to her ring. Kathryn frowned and tried to summon the commander again.

"Captain?"

His voice came from behind her.

"Commander."

"Would you like some tea or coffee?"

She looked at him with trepidation, holding her breath.

"That would be wonderful."

The two walked into Chakotay's darkened quarters. He nodded towards the couch, offering her a seat.

Kathryn folded her hands in her lap patiently.

"Coffee or tea?"

"I'd like coffee."

Chakotay gave her a small smile, walking towards the couch with two steaming cups in his hands. He seated himself beside her, just out of her personal space.

"I'm sorry Chakotay."

She wrapped her hands around the hot mug, watching the steam rise and disappear into the air.

"I have things to be sorry for too, Kathryn."

"But, remember, I'm the one who shot you, not to mention a million other awful things I've put you through lately."

Kathryn looked up from her coffee.

"At least we're a few thousand light years closer to home. Only fifty-nine and some odd thousand to go." He changed the subject to keep her mind from going further.

She smiled.

Chakotay thought over Quinten's words for a moment.

"In an instant."

It puzzled Kathryn but she had no time to ponder the phrase. Chakotay put his tea down on the glass table and leaned towards her. He embraced her in a warm hug, one hand caressing her neck, the other moving in small circles along her back. He'd be here for her even in her darkest moments. He would always defend her. He knew he could never let her go again.

They'd have a talk. He couldn't bear this distance anymore. But not today. Today he knew that what she really needed was just his unconditional acceptance and peace. He wasn't quite sure what she'd gone through in those hours with the Q, and he may never know. Some things couldn't be put into words properly.

She released a breath and slumped towards him, her arms loosely around his shoulders. Small tremors wracking her body.

"We'll be home soon enough."

He tenderly kissed the top of her head and let her hold onto him. _As long as it takes, I'll be here._

Finally the end! Thanks for going on this adventure with me! I hope you enjoyed the story. :)


End file.
